We were robbed of seeing Porsha in her full glory on The Traitors, so this cast trip to Scotland is about to be the next best thing. In The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 17 Episode 13, “Kilts, Chaos, & Reads,” the ladies kicked off an international cast trip, but the drama from Atlanta followed them all the way across the Atlantic.
When we last left off last week, Shamea was fighting for her life at the Bailey Bowl, slowly realizing that her place in the group was becoming increasingly jeopardized by her feuds. Can a Traitors-inspired trip to Scotland save her? Let’s find out.
What Happened in The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 17 Episode 13?
Inspired by their time on The Traitors, Porsha and Phaedra kicked off a birthday trip to Scotland, and for a brief moment, you’d almost think you were watching an actual episode of The Traitors. Just like a real episode of the deceit-driven competition series, a messy tableside argument sucked the life out of everyone, mistruths came to the surface, and some feelings definitely got hurt. There’s a non-zero chance that someone might get banished from the group by the time this is all said and done.
The peaches touched down in Scotland
Kudos to the RHOA producers, because Episode 13 opened feeling genuinely like a Traitors season premiere. They crammed the Housewives into black Land Rovers, rolling up to a sprawling estate in the Scottish countryside.
The Housewives arrived at their “castle,” which is not technically a castle, but a fabulous house that is castle-adjacent enough that we’re just going to call it a castle for all intents and purposes.
Upon their arrival, they were greeted by a woman playing bagpipes and a Black Scottish influencer who kind of looked like Idris Elba if you squint. The only thing missing was Alan Cumming. You can’t have it all.
For a moment, everyone seemed genuinely thrilled to be there, ready to soak in everything Porsha and Phaedra had planned. Then they walked inside, and we got a quick reminder of just how divided this friend group actually is.
Was Angela digging up dirt on Shamea?
While Porsha and Phaedra toured the property and picked out bedrooms, the rest of the cast sat around a breakfast table, and within minutes, the good vibes vanished.
Shamea and Angela started rehashing their ongoing war, circling back to the Nashville trip in Season 16 and working their way through to the present-day rumors that Shamea allegedly slept with the entire NBA and NFL rosters in Atlanta. Shamea then wound up throwing a new grenade into the mix.
Remember that green-bearded lawyer we saw earlier in the season when Shamea was working on her rum line? He is now a character in this storyline. According to Shamea, she heard from George and his wife, Ashley, that Angela had been asking questions about her, trying to dig up dirt for RHOA.
Angela countered that they’re neighbors and that George told her he paid Shamea, which Shamea explained was a charitable donation. Angela took that information and went straight into a round of mental gymnastics, asking Shamea point-blank if she slept with him for the money.
As the argument escalated, Cynthia stepped in. She told Shamea that multiple people in the group believe she’s responsible for the division and that she has the “power” to make it better. That’s a lot to put on someone who just got accused of sleeping with a green-bearded lawyer.
Angela crashed out after getting called out by Shamea
Angela may never be able to attend another HOA meeting after the mess she started. Following those accusations about George, Shamea barricaded herself in her room and went straight to the source. She texted George’s wife directly to figure out what exactly happened. According to Ashley, Angela was lying.
Meanwhile, Angela also reached out to Ashley, and suddenly, it became clear that Angela had taken some creative liberties with her story. Was she actually digging around for dirt on Shamea? Probably. But at this point, that’s all been overshadowed by her desperate attempt to paint Shamea as a cheater.
Instead of having a normal conversation about it, Angela lost her cool, stomping around the property and screaming at Shamea’s closed bedroom door, clearly eager for another read-off. The biggest fan in the world couldn’t cool her off, and honestly? Not a great look for her. She may have flown too close to the sun on this one.
Shamea cleared the air with K. Michelle — then clashed with Angela again
As the dust settled from Angela and Shamea’s fight, the ladies got dressed up and headed out to dinner. Shamea, Pinky, and K. Michelle arrived first, which gave them the perfect opening to address the lingering tension from the club night. Specifically, they needed to address Shamea’s comment that her off-camera friends weren’t exactly thrilled about her budding friendship with K.
Somehow, Shamea seemed genuinely unaware that her comments had landed as hard as they did. When K. Michelle told her how hurtful it felt, Shamea took ownership, apologized, and they agreed to move on — a genuine win for Shamea. There haven’t been many, so she’s got to take what she can get.
Once the full group settled in, the dinner actually started on a surprisingly fun note. The ladies bonded over X-rated topics ranging from threesomes to lesbian porn. But Angela and Shamea inevitably clocked back in for another round of fighting, with Angela trying to confront Shamea about a throwaway comment she made to Ahmauri at the Bailey Bowl.
Like a match on a puddle of gas, things blew up, and they were back on the green-bearded lawyer, going in circles, and it felt exhaustingly unproductive. What are we really fighting about here, ladies? Does Angela really need to be calling Shamea an “Angry Bird looking bitch?” No.
Recognizing that Angela and Shamea’s fighting was teetering further and further into a toxic hole, Porsha and Phaedra intervened. They didn’t fly all the way to Scotland to rip each other to shreds right off the bat. The last thing Porsha needed was another trip to Scotland ruined on the first night.
Things took an emotional turn during the first night in Scotland
After dinner, the group made it back to the castle, and the night took an unexpectedly emotional turn. The news had just broken that Kelli’s ex had threatened to file a $200 million defamation lawsuit against Bravo, and the Queen of Waffles completely broke down. She cannot catch a break this season, and it’s reached a point where even Porsha felt genuinely sorry for her. The two agreed to call a truce, and Porsha stepped up with some real words of encouragement.
“We want to see you through this situation,” Porsha told her.
With love in the air, Kelli apologized to Porsha for the things she’d said earlier in the season, and the emotion in the room was contagious. Cynthia was moved to tears. This is one less beef she’s responsible for fixing.
As the post-dinner conversation continued, Drew also broke down in tears, talking about her divorce and her housing situation. In real time, we know that didn’t go in her favor, but in Scotland, Porsha offered real support, drawing from her own experience with divorce.
Phaedra also weighed in with a sermon, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. These ladies all have a lot in common when they aren’t accusing each other of sleeping with green-bearded lawyers and pro sports teams.
It was a genuinely moving end to an otherwise chaotic first day in Scotland and a much-needed glimmer of hope. This group might have a few Faithfuls after all.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
TELL US — WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RHOA SEASON 17 EPISODE 13? WERE YOU SURPRISED BY HOW EMOTIONAL THE NIGHT GOT? DO YOU THINK SHAMEA AND ANGELA CAN EVER ACTUALLY MOVE PAST THEIR ISSUES?
